Accessing network based content items by a mobile device while offline

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems and methods of accessing content items stored at a content management system by a mobile device, when the mobile device is not communicatively coupled to the content management system. The content management system can receive an indication to mark a content item (e.g., folder and the content items associated with the folder) as available to a mobile device when the mobile device is offline. The content management system can mark the content item, and any content items associated with the content item, for offline access by the mobile device and determine a synchronization schedule for the content item(s). The content management system can then initially send to the mobile device, the marked content item(s) in accordance with the synchronization schedule. While offline, the mobile device can make changes to the marked content items. The changes can be synchronized between the mobile device and content management system when the mobile device is online.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No.62/441,111, filed on Dec. 30, 2016, entitled, “ACCESSING CLOUD BASEDFOLDERS BY A MOBILE DEVICE WHILE OFFLINE,” which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology pertains to content items stored at a contentmanagement system and available for access by a mobile device, and morespecifically pertains to content items being available for access whenthe mobile device is not communicatively coupled to the contentmanagement system.

BACKGROUND

Content items stored in an online storage account associated with acontent management system can be accessed, via a network, by mobiledevices through, for example, mobile applications. Users can uploadcontent items, such as pictures, songs, documents, folders, etc., fromthe mobile device (and other computing devices) to their online storageaccount and later access the content items while communicativelycoupled, via a network, to the content management system. The uploadedcontent items, unlike on a desktop or laptop computing device, are notautomatically stored, locally, on the mobile device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-recited and other advantages and features of the disclosurewill become apparent by reference to specific embodiments thereof whichare illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only example embodiments of the disclosure and are not,therefore, to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principlesherein are described and explained with additional specificity anddetail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of devices and a network inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show an example mobile application for offlinecontent items in accordance with some embodiments

FIGS. 3A and 3B show an example web interface for offline content itemsin accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of an example method for initializingoffline content items;

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of an example method for synchronizingauthorized devices;

FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of an example method for synchronizing amobile device;

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of an example method for two-waysynchronization;

FIG. 8 shows an example of a system for implementing certain aspects ofthe present technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below.While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understoodthat this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that other components and configurationsmay be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The disclosed technology addresses the need in the art for offlineaccess to content items (e.g., folders) by a mobile device (e.g.,smartphone, tablet, etc.). A user can store a large quantity of contentitems at their online storage account associated with a contentmanagement system. The user can store these content items from a varietyof computing devices, including mobile devices, desktop computers,laptop computers, tablets, etc. The content items can be accessed by acomputing device, when communicatively coupled to the content managementsystem, through a variety of ways, such as through a stand-aloneapplication, one or more application plug-ins, a web browser, etc.Different computing devices can have different storage capacities forlocally storing content items that reside at the content managementsystem. For example, desktop computers have high storage capacities andcan locally store a high quantity of content items, where mobile deviceshave a low storage capacity (compared to the content management systemand desktop computers) and cannot locally store a large quantity ofcontent items.

Accordingly, mobile devices generally access content items stored at thecontent management system while “online” (e.g., communicatively coupledto the content management system) since the mobile devices do not havethe necessary capacity to locally store a large quantity of the contentitems. In some situations, users may mark specific content items for“offline” access (e.g., not communicatively coupled to the contentmanagement system). For example, a user may mark a folder they wish toaccess over the weekend when not connect to their network (e.g.,employer's corporate network, virtual private network, etc.). The folder(as well as all associated content items) can be downloaded from thecontent management system, and be stored locally on the mobile device sothe user can access the folder of content items while notcommunicatively coupled to the network.

In some embodiments the disclosed technology is deployed in the contextof a content management system having content item synchronizationcapabilities and collaboration features, among others. An example of asystem configuration 100 is shown in FIG. 1, which includes contentmanagement system 110 interacting with client device 150.

Accounts

Content management system 110 can store content items in associationwith accounts, as well as perform a variety of content item managementtasks, such as retrieve, modify, browse, and/or share the contentitem(s). Furthermore, content management system 110 can enable anaccount to access content item(s) from multiple client devices via acommunication network 130 (e.g., the Internet; telephone data networks,including 3G, LTE, etc.; wide area networks; local area network; virtualnetworks, wireless networks, etc.).

Content management system 110 supports a plurality of accounts. Anentity (user, group of users, company, etc.) can create an account withcontent management system, and account details can be stored in accountdatabase 140. Account database 140 can store profile information forregistered entities. In some cases, profile information for a registeredentity can include a username and/or email address. Account database 140can include account management information, such as account type (e.g.,various tiers of free or paid accounts), storage space allocated,storage space used, client devices 150 having a registered contentmanagement client application 152 resident thereon, security settings,personal configuration settings, etc.

Account database 140 can store groups of accounts associated with anentity. Groups can have permissions based on group policies and/oraccess control lists, and members of a group can inherit thepermissions. For example, a marketing group can have access to one setof content items while an engineering group can have access to anotherset of content items. An administrator of a group can modify groups,modify user accounts, etc.

Content Item Storage

A feature of content management system 110 is the storage of contentitems, which can be stored in content storage 142. Content items can beany digital data such as documents, collaboration content items, textfiles, audio files, image files, video files, webpages, executablefiles, binary files, etc. A content item can also include collections orother mechanisms for grouping content items together with differentbehaviors, such as folders, zip files, playlists, albums, etc. Acollection can refer to a folder, or a plurality of content items thatare related or grouped by a common attribute. In some embodiments,content storage 142 can be combined with other types of storage ordatabases to handle specific functions. Content storage 142 can storecontent items, while metadata regarding the content items can be storedin metadata database 146. Likewise, data regarding where a content itemis stored in content storage 142 can be stored in content directory 144.Additionally, data regarding changes, access, etc. can be stored inserver file journal 148. Each of the various storages/databases such ascontent storage 142, content directory 144, server file journal 148, andmetadata database 146 can be comprised of more than one such storage ordatabase and can be distributed over many devices and locations. Otherconfigurations are also possible. For example, data from content storage142, content directory 144, server file journal 148, and/or metadatadatabase 146 may be combined into one or more content storages ordatabases or further segmented into additional content storages ordatabases. Thus, content management system 110 may include more or lessstorages and/or databases than shown in FIG. 1.

In some embodiments, content storage 142 is associated with at least onecontent management service 120, which includes software or otherprocessor executable instructions for managing the storage of contentitems including, but not limited to, receiving content items forstorage, preparing content items for storage, selecting a storagelocation for the content item, retrieving content items from storage,etc. In some embodiments, content management service 120 can divide acontent item into smaller blocks of data for storage at content storage142. The location of each data block making up a content item can berecorded in content directory 144. Content directory 144 can include acontent entry for each content item stored in content storage 142. Thecontent entry can be associated with a unique ID, which identifies acontent item.

In some embodiments, the unique ID, which identifies a content item incontent directory 144, can be derived from a deterministic hashfunction. This method of deriving a unique ID for a content item canrecognize content item duplicates as such since the deterministic hashfunction will generally output the same identifier for every copy of thesame content item, but will output a different identifier for adifferent content item. Using this methodology, content managementservice 120 can output a unique ID for each content item.

Content management service 120 can also designate or record a contentpath for a content item. The content path can include the name of thecontent item and/or folder hierarchy associated with the content item.For example, the content path can include a folder or path of folders inwhich the content item is stored in a local file system on a clientdevice. Content management service 120 can use the content path topresent the content items in the appropriate folder hierarchy, such as atree-like directory structure. While content items are stored in contentstorage 142 in blocks and may not be stored under a tree like directorystructure, such directory structure is a comfortable navigationstructure for users. Content management service 120 can define or recorda content path for a content item wherein the “root” node of a directorystructure can be a namespace for each account. Within the namespace canbe a directory structure defined by a user of an account and/or contentmanagement service 120. Content directory 144 can store the content pathfor each content item as part of a content entry.

In some embodiments the namespace can include additional namespaces thatappear in the directory structure as if they are stored within the rootnode. This can occur when an account has access to a shared collection.Shared collections can be assigned their own namespace within contentmanagement system 110. While shared collections are actually a root nodefor the shared collection, they are located subordinate to the useraccount namespace in the directory structure, and can appear as a folderwithin a folder for the user account. As addressed above, the directorystructure can be a comfortable navigation structure for users, but doesnot necessarily correlate to storage locations of content items incontent storage 142.

While the directory structure in which an account views content itemsdoes not necessarily correlate to storage locations at contentmanagement system 110, the directory structure can generally correlateto storage locations on client device 150 depending on the file systemused by client device 150.

As addressed above, a content entry in content directory 144 can alsoinclude the location of each block of data making up a content item.More specifically, the content entry can include content pointers thatidentify the location in content storage 142 of the data blocks thatmake up the content item.

In addition to a content path and content pointer, a content entry incontent directory 144 can also include a user account identifier thatidentifies the user account that has access to the content item and/or agroup identifier that identifies a group with access to the contentitem. In some embodiments, multiple user account identifiers can beassociated with a single content entry indicating that the content itemhas shared access by the multiple user accounts. In some embodiments,user account identifiers associated with a single content entry canspecify different permissions for the associated content item. In someembodiments, content directory 144 can describe a hierarchical structureof content items associated with a user account, the hierarchicalstructure being specific to the user account.

Content management service 120 can decrease the amount of storage spacerequired by identifying duplicate content items or duplicate blocks thatmake up a content item or versions of a content item. Instead of storingmultiple copies, content storage 142 can store a single copy of thecontent item or block of the content item and content directory 144 caninclude a pointer or other mechanism to link the duplicates to thesingle copy.

Content management service 120 can also store metadata describingcontent items, content item types, folders, file path, and/or therelationship of content items to various accounts, collections, orgroups in metadata database 146, in association with the unique ID ofthe content item.

Content management service 120 can also store a log of data regardingchanges, access, etc. in server file journal 148. Server file journal148 can include the unique ID of the content item and a description ofthe change or access action along with a time stamp or version numberand any other relevant data. Server file journal 148 can also includepointers to blocks affected by the change or content item access.Content management service can provide the ability to undo operations,by using a content item version control service that tracks changes tocontent items, different versions of content items (including divergingversion trees), and a change history that can be acquired from theserver file journal 148. The change history can include a set of changesthat, when applied to the original content item version, produces thechanged content item version.

Content Item Synchronization

Another feature of content management system 110 is synchronization ofcontent items with at least one client device 150. Client device(s) cantake different forms and have different capabilities. For example,client device 170 is a computing device having a local file systemaccessible by multiple applications executing on the device. Clientdevice 172 is a computing device in which content items may only beaccessible to a specific application or by permission given by thespecific application, and the content items can be stored in anapplication specific space and/or in a remote network. Client device 174is any client device accessing content management system 110 via a webbrowser and accessing content items via a web interface. While exampleclient devices 170, 172, and 174 are depicted in form factors such as alaptop, mobile device, or web browser, it should be understood thatthese descriptions do not limit client devices to these form factors.For example, a mobile device, such as client device 172, may have alocal file system accessible by multiple applications executing on thedevice, or client device 172 may access content management system 110via a web browser. As such, the form factor should not be consideredlimiting when considering client device 150's capabilities. One or morefunctions described in this disclosure with respect to client device 150may or may not be available on every client device depending on thespecific capabilities of the device—the file access model being one suchcapability.

In many embodiments, client devices are associated with an account ofcontent management system 110, but in some embodiments client devicescan access content using shared links and do not require an account.

As noted above, some client devices can access content management system110 using a web browser. However, client devices can also access contentmanagement system 110 using client application 152 stored and running onclient device 150. Client application 152 can include a content itemsynchronization service 156.

Content item synchronization service 156 can be in communication withcontent management service 120 to synchronize changes to content itemsbetween client device 150 and content management system 110.

Client device 150 can synchronize content with content management system110 via content synchronization service 156. The synchronization can beplatform agnostic. That is, content can be synchronized across multipleclient devices of varying types, capabilities, operating systems, etc.Content synchronization service 156 can synchronize any changes (new,deleted, modified, copied, or moved content items) to content items in adesignated location of a file system of client device 150.

While content can be synchronized across multiple client devices ofvarying operating systems, each operating system can have its ownchallenges in synchronizing between the content management system andthe mobile devices (specifically iOS). For example, each applicationrunning iOS is siloed into its own private data space and cannot sharedata with each other. Historically applications could not share databetween each other. Instead, applications would provide a copy of thedata to the other applications, which in turn saves a copy in itsprivate data share. For example, if a user wants to edit a text documentstored in client application 152, a copy of that text document would besent to the text editor. The user can edit the text document and thetext editor would then save a copy it its own private data space.However, the edits would not be sent back to client application 152 andin turn the edits could not be synchronized to the content managementsystem.

Content items can be synchronized from client device 150 to contentmanagement system 110, and vice versa. In embodiments in which clientdevice 150 initiates synchronization of content items with contentmanagement system 110, a user can manipulate content items directly fromthe file system of client device 150, while file system extension 156(which can be integrated with the local file system, or even theoperating system kernel) can intercept read, write, copy, move, deletecommands relative to content items in the designated location of thefile system of client device 150.

When file system extension 154 detects a write, move, copy, or deletecommand, it can notify content item synchronization service 156, whichcan synchronize the changes to content management system service 120. Insome embodiments, content item synchronization service 156 can performsome functions of content management system service 120 includingfunctions addressed above such as dividing a content item into blocks,hashing the content item to generate a unique identifier, etc. Contentsynchronization service 156 can index content within client storageindex 160 and save the result in storage index 160. Indexing can includecreating a unique identifier for each content item. In some embodiments,content synchronization service 156 creates this unique identifier byputting the data of the content item (e.g., excluding the filenameand/or other metadata) through a hash function; as addressed above,content management system can use a similar process to provideidentifiers to content on content management system 110. Contentsynchronization service 156 can use storage index 160 to facilitate thesynchronization of at least a portion of the content within clientstorage with content associated with a user account on contentmanagement system 110. For example, content synchronization service 156can compare storage index 160 with content management system 110 anddetect differences between content on client storage and contentassociated with a user account on content management system 110. Contentsynchronization service 156 can then attempt to reconcile differences byuploading, downloading, modifying, and/or deleting content on clientstorage as appropriate. Content management service 120 can store thechanged or new block for the content item and update server file journal148, metadata database 146, content directory 144, content storage 142,account database 140, etc., as appropriate.

When synchronizing content from content management system 110 to clientdevice 150, a modification, addition, deletion, and/or move of a contentitem recorded in server file journal 148 can trigger delivery of anotification to client device 150 using notification service 122. Whenclient device 150 receives the notification of the change to server filejournal 148, client device 150 can check storage index 160 to determineif the time stamp of the change occurred since the last synchronization,or determine if the specific change has been synchronized. When clientdevice 150 determines that it is out of synchronization with contentmanagement system 110, content item synchronization service 156 canrequest content item blocks including the changes, and client device 150can update its local copy of the changed content items. In someembodiments, notification service 122 can query other services ordatabases of content management system 110, such as server file journal148, to gain more context for the notification, to determine if anotification can be batched with another notification, or to supplementa notification, etc.

Sometimes client device 150 might not have a network connectionavailable. In this scenario, content item synchronization service 156can monitor the linked collection for content item changes and queuethose changes for later synchronization to content management system 110when a network connection is available. Similarly, a user can manuallystart, stop, pause, or resume synchronization with content managementsystem 110.

Content item synchronization service 156 can synchronize all contentassociated with a particular user account on content management system110. Alternatively, content item synchronization service 156 canselectively synchronize a portion of the content of the total contentassociated with the particular user account on content management system110. Selectively synchronizing only a portion of the content canpreserve space on client device 150 and improve performance of clientdevice 150 and content management system 110 by reducing the processing,memory, storage, and network resources that would otherwise be consumedby synchronizing all content.

In some embodiments, content item synchronization service 156selectively stores a portion of the content associated with theparticular user account and stores placeholder content items in clientstorage for the remainder portion of the content. For example, contentitem synchronization service 156 can store a placeholder content itemthat has the same filename, path, extension, metadata, of its respectivecomplete content item on content management system 110, but lacking thedata of the complete content item. The placeholder content item can be afew kilobytes or less in size while the respective complete content itemmight be significantly larger. After client device 150 attempts toaccess the content item, content item synchronization service 156 canretrieve the data of the content item from content management system 110and provide the complete content item to accessing client device 150.This approach can provide significant space and bandwidth savings whilestill providing full access to a user's content on content managementsystem 110.

Collaboration Features

Another feature of content management system 110 is to facilitatecollaboration between users. Collaboration features include content itemsharing, commenting on content items, co-working on content items,instant messaging, providing presence and seen state informationregarding content items, etc.

Sharing

Content management system 110 can manage sharing of content via sharingservice 128. Accounts of content management system 110 can share contentwith one another by providing a link to the content. Sharing service 128can then provide access to the shared content item from any computingdevice in network communication with content management system 110.However, in some embodiments, a link can be associated with accessrestrictions enforced by content management system 110. Sharing service128 can also facilitate indirect sharing of content within contentmanagement system 110 by enabling an account to share shared contentwith at least one additional user account (in addition to the originaluser account associated with the content item) so that each user accounthas access to the content item. The additional user account can gainaccess to the content by accepting the content, which will then beaccessible through web interface service 124 or the directory structureassociated with the additional user's account on client device 150. Thesharing can be performed in a platform agnostic manner. That is, thecontent can be shared across multiple client devices 150 of varyingtypes, capabilities, operating systems, etc. The content can also beshared across varying types of user accounts.

To share a content item within content management system 110, sharingservice 128 can add a user account identifier to a content entry inaccess control list database 145 associated with the content item, thusgranting the added user account access to the content item. Sharingservice 128 can also remove user account identifiers from a contententry to restrict a user account's access to the content item. Sharingservice 128 can record content item identifiers, user accountidentifiers given access to a content item, and access levels in accesscontrol list database 145.

To share content items outside of content management system 110, sharingservice 128 may generate a custom network address, such as a uniformresource locator (URL), which can allow any web browser to access thecontent item or collection in content management system 110 withoutauthentication. To accomplish this, sharing service 128 can includecontent identification data in the generated URL, which can later beused to properly identify and return the requested content item. Forexample, sharing service 128 can include the account identifier and thecontent path or a content item identifying code in the generated URL.Upon selection of the URL, the content identification data included inthe URL can be transmitted to content management system 110. Contentmanagement system 110 can then use the received content identificationdata to identify the appropriate content item and return the contentitem.

In addition to generating the URL, sharing service 128 can also recordthe URL, or that the URL exists, in access control list database 145. Insome embodiments, the content entry associated with a content item caninclude a URL flag indicating whether a URL to the content item has beencreated. For example, the URL flag can be a Boolean value initially setto 0 or false to indicate that a URL to the content item has not beencreated. Sharing service 128 can change the value of the flag to 1 ortrue after generating a URL to the content item.

In some embodiments, sharing service 128 can associate a set ofpermissions to a URL for a content item. For example, if a user attemptsto access the content item via the URL, sharing service 128 can providea limited set of permissions for the content item. Examples of limitedpermissions include restrictions that the user cannot download thecontent item, save the content item, copy the content item, modify thecontent item, etc. In some embodiments, limited permissions includerestrictions that only permit a content item to be accessed from withina specified domain, e.g., from within a corporate network domain, or byaccounts associated with a specified domain, e.g., accounts associatedwith a company account (e.g., @acme.com).

In some embodiments, sharing service 128 can also deactivate a generatedURL or otherwise unshare a content item. For example, each content entrycan also include an active sharing flag indicating whether the contentis still shared, and sharing service 128 may only return a requestedcontent item if the active sharing flag is set to 1 or true. Thus,access to a previously shared content item can be restricted by changingthe value of the active sharing flag. This can allow a user to restrictaccess to the shared content item without having to move the contentitem, delete the generated URL, etc. Likewise, sharing service 128 canreactivate sharing by again changing the value of the active sharingflag to 1 or true. A user can thus easily restore access to the contentitem without the need to generate a new sharing mechanism, e.g., a newURL.

In some embodiments, content management system 110 can designate alocation, such as a URL, for uploading a content item. For example, afirst user account can request an upload location from sharing service128, and provide the upload location to a second user account (or otheruser in some cases). The second user account or other user can upload acontent item to the first user account using the upload location.

Monitoring Interactions With Shared Content Items

In some embodiments, content management system 110 can provideinformation about user interactions with a shared content item. In someembodiments, content management system 110 can report that a user iscurrently viewing the shared content item. For example, clientcollaboration service 158 can request notifications service 122 to sendnotifications to other client devices having access to the sharedcontent item when any one client device accesses the shared contentitem. Notifications service 122 can then notify all client devicesregarding access to the shared content item by the one client device. Insome embodiments, the interaction data can also serve as a proxy for thepresence of a user owning and/or operating the one client device.

In some embodiments, content management system 110 can report a historyof user interactions with a shared content item. Collaboration service126 can query data sources such as metadata database 146 and server filejournal 148 to determine that a user account has saved the content item,that a user account has yet to access the content item, etc., anddisseminate this information using notification service 122 to otheruser accounts to determine which user accounts have (or have not)interacted with the shared content item.

In some embodiments, collaboration service 126 can facilitate commentingassociated with content, even if a content item does not nativelysupport commenting functionality. Such comments can be stored inmetadata database 146.

In some embodiments, collaboration service 126 can originate andtransmit notifications for users. For example, a first user can mentiona second user in a comment and collaboration service 126 can send anotification to the second user that he has been mentioned in thecomment. Various other content item events can trigger notifications,including deleting a content item, sharing a content item, etc.

In general, collaboration service 126 can provide a messaging platformwhereby users can send and receive instant messages, voice calls,emails, etc.

Collaboration Content Items

Collaboration service 126 can also provide an interactive content itemcollaboration platform in which users can simultaneously make changes tocollaboration content items, provide comments regarding thecollaboration content items, manage tasks associated with thecollaboration content items, etc. These collaboration content items canbe files that user accounts can create and edit using a content itemeditor, and can contain elements for enabling collaboration. Thesecollaboration elements may include a collaboration identifier, one ormore author and/or editor identifiers, collaboration text, collaborationattributes, interaction information, comments, sharing users, etc. Thecollaboration elements can be stored in a database entity to allow forsearch and retrieval of the collaboration content items. Multiple useraccounts may access, view, edit, and otherwise collaborate oncollaboration content items at the same time or at different times. Insome embodiments, this can be managed through a web interface thatenables two users to work on the same copy of a collaboration contentitem at the same time.

Collaboration Companion Interface

In some embodiments client collaboration service 158 can provide anative application companion interface for the purpose of displayinginformation relevant to a content item being presented on client device150. In some embodiments, a certain content item is accessed by a nativeapplication stored and executed on client device 150, where the contentitem is in a designated location of the file system of client device 150such that the content item is managed by client application 152, thenative application may not provide any native way to display the aboveaddressed collaboration data addressed above. In such embodiments,client collaboration service 158 can detect that a user has opened acontent item, and can provide an overlay with additional information forthe content item, such as the collaboration data. For example, theadditional information can include comments for the content item, astatus of the content item, interactions with the content item by otherusers, etc. Such an overlay can warn a user that changes might be lostbecause another user is currently editing the content item.

In some embodiments, one or more of the services or storages/databasesdiscussed above can be accessed using public or private applicationprogramming interfaces.

Certain software applications can access content storage 142 via an APIon behalf of a user account. For example, a software package, such as anapplication running on client device 150, can programmatically make APIcalls directly to content management system 110 when a user accountprovides authentication credentials, to read, write, create, delete,share, or otherwise manipulate content.

A user can utilize a user account to view or manipulate content using aweb interface generated and served by web interface service 124. Forexample, the user can navigate in a web browser to a web addressassociated with the user account provided by content management system110. Changes or updates to content in content storage 142 made throughweb interface service 124, such as uploading a new version of a contentitem, can be propagated back to other client devices associated with theuser account. For example, multiple client devices, each with their ownclient software, can be associated with a single account and contentitems in the account can be synchronized between each of the multipleclient devices.

Client device 150 can connect to content management system 110 on behalfof a user account. A user of the user account can directly interact withclient device 150, for example when client device 150 is a desktop orlaptop computer, phone, television, internet-of-things device, etc.Alternatively or additionally, client device 150 can act on behalf ofthe user account without the user having physical access to clientdevice 150, for example when client device 150 is a server.

Some features of client device 150 are enabled by an applicationinstalled on client device 150. In some embodiments, the application caninclude a content management system specific component. For example, thecontent management system specific component can be a client application152 (e.g., stand-alone application), one or more application plug-ins,and/or a browser extension. However, the user can also interact withcontent management system 110 via a third-party application, such as aweb browser, word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation program,source code control tool, etc. that resides on client device 150 and iscapable of communicating with content management system 110. In variousimplementations, client application 152 can present a user interface(UI) for a user to interact with content management system 110. Forexample, the user can interact with the content management system 110via file system extension 154 integrated with the file system or via awebpage displayed using a web browser application.

In some embodiments, client application 152 can manage and synchronizecontent for more than one account of content management system 110. Insuch embodiments, client application 152 can remain logged into multipleaccounts and provide normal services for the multiple accounts. In someembodiments, each account can appear as folder in a file system, and allcontent items within that folder can be synchronized with contentmanagement system 110. In some embodiments, client application 152 caninclude a selector to choose one of the multiple accounts to be theprimary account or default account.

While this disclosure presents system 100 with specific components, itwill be understood by one skilled in the art, that the architecturalconfiguration of system 100 is simply one possible configuration andthat other configurations with more or fewer components are possible.Further, a service can have more or less functionality, even includingfunctionality described as being associated with another service.Moreover, features described in this disclosure with respect to aparticular embodiment can be combined with features described withrespect to another embodiment.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show an example mobile application for offlinecontent items. Referring to FIG. 2A, mobile application interface 200can be part of mobile application 202 installed on mobile device 172 tointeract with content management system 110. User 206 (e.g., User A) ofa user account associated with content management system 110 operatesmobile application 202 on mobile device 172. Mobile application 202 cancommunicatively couple with content management system 110 for viewingand editing content items stored at the user account of user 206 (e.g.,User A). For example, the user account of user 206 can have folder 210(e.g., Milo), folder 212 (e.g., Photos), folder 214 (e.g., Roo), image216 (e.g., imogen.jpg), and movie 218 (e.g., Matrix.mp4). The contentitems displayed on mobile application 202 can be stored at contentmanagement system 110. While communicatively coupled to the contentmanagement system (e.g., by a communication network), the mobile devicecan access the content items stored at the content management system. Insome examples, content items can be available “offline” to the mobiledevice (e.g., while not communicatively coupled to the contentmanagement system). For example, image 216 (e.g., imogen.jpg) can be an“offline” content item, as indicated by the “check mark” icon. Folder214 (e.g., Roo) can be marked as available “offline,” but not yetdownloaded to the mobile device, as indicated by the “exclamation mark”icon. User 206 can mark (e.g., select) one or more content items to beavailable offline through menu 208 (as shown in FIG. 2B).

Referring to FIG. 2B, at mobile application interface 225 of mobileapplication 202, a user can mark a content item as available offline.For example, user 206 (e.g., User A) can select menu 208 of folder 210(e.g., Milo). The menu can include a “make available offline” 220option. In response to marking folder 210 (e.g., Milo) as availableoffline, content management system can transmit (e.g., via acommunication network) the marked folder 210 and all of the associatedcontent items (e.g., stored within the folder, including sub-folders andits associated content items) to the mobile device.

In some examples, the content management system can first verify one ormore criteria before transmitting content items to the mobile device.For example, content management system can compare available storagecapacity of the mobile device with the size of the marked content itemsto be transmitted. In some examples, content management system 110 candetermine an available storage capacity on mobile device 172. When theavailable storage capacity on the mobile device is less than a thresholdamount, the marked content items will not be transmitted. In someexamples, the content management system can be allocated a predefinedamount of storage on the mobile device (e.g., the threshold amount).When the marked content items exceed the predefined amount of storageallocated to the content management system the marked content items willnot be transmitted. In some examples, the user can override thethreshold amount and the marked content items can be transmitted (e.g.,as long as the mobile device has available storage).

In other examples, content management system 110 may only transmitcontent items when mobile device is communicatively coupled through aWIFI connection. For example, when mobile device 172 is communicativelycoupled through a cellular or wireless telephone technology (2G, 3G,LTE, etc.) the content management system will not transmit the markedcontent items. In some examples, the user can override the criteria andthe marked content items can be transmitted when communicatively coupledthrough a cellular or wireless telephone technology.

Referring to FIG. 2C, at mobile application interface 250 of mobileapplication 202, a user can select the “offline” tab 204 (as shown inFIG. 2A) for displaying offline content items at the mobile device. Forexample, mobile device 172 can have locally stored: image 216 (e.g.,imogen.jpg), synchronized folder 212 (e.g., Roo), and newly markedfolder 210 (e.g., Milo). These content items (and content items withinthe folders) can be available for access when mobile device 172 is notcommunicatively coupled to content management system 110. In someexamples, associated content items (e.g., content items stored in afolder) can also be available offline without the user marking eachindividual associated content item.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show example web interfaces 300 and 350 for offlinecontent items. Web interface 300 can be rendered and displayed usingbrowsing application 322. Browsing application 322 can be an applicationoperating on a client device that can be used to navigate content itemsdistributed throughout a communication network, such as the Internet.Browsing application 322 can include address bar 324 for displaying webaddress 326 (e.g., https://www.cloudcms.com/home) toward which user 306(e.g., User A) can be navigating, browsing, or otherwise interacting.Browsing application 322 can also show one or more client devices 150associated with user 206. For example, desktop 170, mobile device 172,and client device 174 associated with the user account of user 206. Asshown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, content management system 110 is beingaccessed by client device 174; this is indicated by showing desktop 170and mobile device 172 as being greyed out.

Referring to FIG. 3A, browsing application 322 can show the contentitems associated with the user account of user 206. For example, theuser account of user 206 of content management system 110 can havefolder 210 (e.g., Milo), folder 212 (e.g., Photos), folder 214 (e.g.,Roo), image 216 (e.g., imogen.jpg), and movie 218 (e.g., Matrix.mp4). Insome examples, content management system 110 can provide indications ofcontent items that have been indicated as available offline and thestatus of the content items. For example, folder 214 (e.g., Roo) andimage 216 (e.g., imogen.jpg) have been marked as offline for mobiledevice 172 (e.g., stored locally at mobile device 172). For example,image 216 (e.g., imogen.jpg) has been transmitted to mobile device 172,as shown by the “check mark” icon, and folder 214 (e.g., Roo) has beenmarked for offline access, but not yet been transmitted to mobile device172, as shown by the “exclamation mark” icon. In some examples, contentitems can be marked, by user 206, on web interface 300 (or on a clientapplication). For example, a user (or administrator) can select orde-select the check box to the left of the content item. In otherexamples, the user can right-click a content item to bring up acontextual menu including a mark/unmark option. In other examples, anytype of user interface menu can be used to mark/unmark content items.After a content item has been marked available offline via a webinterface or client application (that is not executing on the mobiledevice), the content management system can send an indication (e.g.,push notification) that the marked content item is to be synchronized tothe mobile device. Upon receiving the indication, content itemsynchronization service 156 of mobile application 202 can synchronizethe marked content to the mobile device. Referring to FIG. 3B, which issubsequent in time to FIG. 2B (e.g., folder 210 being marked availableoffline), shows folder 210 (e.g., Milo) being marked as availableoffline and transmitted to mobile device 172. In some examples, markingand unmarking content items can be preemptive (e.g., a user can unmark acontent item while that content item is currently being downloaded tothe mobile device). In some examples, offline progress of content itemscan be provided by mobile application 202 (e.g., progress of one or morefiles, progress of an entire folder, progress of a sub-folder, etc.). Insome examples, the progress can be shown in bytes until the download ofthe content item has been completed. In some examples, the progress canbe number of files until the download of the content items has beencompleted.

The method shown in FIG. 4 is provided by way of example, as there are avariety of ways to carry out the method. Additionally, while the examplemethod is illustrated with a particular order of blocks, those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that FIG. 4 and the blocksshown therein can be executed in any order that accomplishes thetechnical advantages of the present disclosure and can include fewer ormore blocks than illustrated.

Each block shown in FIG. 4 represents one or more processes, methods orsubroutines, carried out in the example method. The blocks shown in FIG.4 can be implemented in a system such as system 100 shown in FIG. 1. Theflow chart illustrated in FIG. 4 will be described in relation to, andmake reference to, at least the elements of system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows an example flow diagram 400 for configuring a mobile devicefor offline (e.g., local) access of one or more content items stored ina content management system. Flow diagram 400 can begin at block 405. Atblock 405 a content management system can determine that one or morecontent items (e.g., folder) should be locally available, at a mobiledevice, when the mobile device is not communicatively coupled to thecontent management system (e.g., offline). In some examples, anindication can be sent by the mobile device to the content managementsystem (e.g., after a user marks a content item for offline access, themobile application on the mobile device can send a notification to thecontent management system). For example, mobile device 172 can send anindication (e.g., that the user has marked the content item) for local(e.g. offline) access (e.g., when not communicatively coupled to contentmanagement system 110) to a folder (e.g., folder 216 Milo). In someexamples, the indication can be metadata associated with the contentitem. In some examples, the indication can include a unique identifierof the content item. In some examples, the indication can be a flag(e.g., variable, Boolean, etc.). Mobile device 172 can have authorizedaccess to a user account of the user with content management system 110,to which one or more content items can be stored. As shown in FIG. 2B, auser can mark a content item (e.g., folder 216 Milo) stored on thecontent management system to be locally available (e.g., offline) from amobile application running on the mobile device (e.g., graphical userinterface). As shown in FIG. 2C, marked folder (e.g., folder 216 Milo)can be shown with a check mark to indicate to the user that content item(e.g., Milo) is locally (e.g., offline) available to the mobile device.In some examples, the graphical user interface can be a mobileapplication. In other examples, the graphical user interface can be aweb page or client application connected to the content managementsystem.

In other examples, the indication can be sent by an administrator. Forexample, an administrator can access content management system 110 byclient device 174 (e.g., using a web interface, administrative portal,web address, etc.) The administrator can mark (e.g., pin) one or morecontent items (e.g., files, folders) for local (e.g., offline)availability, along with one or more mobile devices in which the one ormore content items are locally available (e.g., while offline from thecontent management system). For example, an administrator can select oneor more manuals (or folders containing one or more manuals) a servicetechnician may need for an on-site job. The manuals can be downloaded tothe mobile device of the service technician prior to the on-site job,enabling the service technician access to the manuals for the on-sitejob. In some examples, removal of the content items from the mobiledevice can also be performed by the administrator (e.g., the servicetechnician cannot delete the content items).

In other examples, the content management system can determine themobile device should have offline access to the content items based onhistorical usage of the content items accessed by the user from themobile device and/or other client devices. For example, when a user hasaccessed a specific content item (e.g., image 216 imogen.jpg) multipletimes throughout a time period the content management system canautomatically mark the content item for offline access (as shown in FIG.2C) so the user can have local access on the mobile device. In someexamples, a content item can be accessed a specific number of times in asingle day, a specific number of times throughout a series (or block) ofdays, or accessed at the end of a week for local access over theweekend. The content management system can also take into considerationwhen marking content items the available space on the mobile device. Forexample, when the available storage on the mobile device is below athreshold value (e.g., 20%) the content management system will notautomatically mark (and subsequently transmit to the mobile device) thecontent items.

At block 410, the content management system can mark the one or morecontent items (and any associated content items) for offline access onthe mobile device. For example, content management system 110 can markthe content items by modify settings (e.g., metadata, flag, etc.) of theone or more content items to indicate they should be synchronized withmobile device 172. In some examples, the setting (e.g., indicating themark) can be stored at metadata database 146. For examples, metadatadatabase 146 can include an entry for the content item and an associatedflag (e.g., up-to-date, stale, etc.). In some examples, the settings canbe stored in a database, configured to store information (e.g.,metadata, flags, etc.) on content items marked for offline availability,communicatively coupled to the content management system. In someexamples, a flag can be toggled (e.g., from up-to-date to stale) toindicate a content item should be synchronized to the mobile device. Insome examples, the synchronization can occur in accordance with aschedule. In some examples, the synchronization can occur on-demand(e.g., via push notifications) after a content item has been modified.In some examples, the modified settings (e.g., metadata, flag, etc.) canbe recursive (e.g., content items and sub-folders within a folder canalso be marked).

At block 415, a synchronization schedule is determined or received. Insome examples, the synchronization schedule can have a default settingof as soon as a connection is available (e.g., the mobile devicecommunicatively coupled to the content management system). In someexamples, the synchronization schedule can be determined by the user (oradministrator). For example, the user (or administrator) can determinethe synchronization should be scheduled immediately (i.e., send thecontent items to the mobile device as soon as available). The user (oradministrator) can also determine (and transmit to the contentmanagement system) a start time (e.g., day:hour:minute, etc.) in whichthe content items should be synchronized to the mobile device. The user(or administrator) can also determine (and transmit to the contentmanagement system) a time period in which the content items should besynchronized to the mobile device and then unsynchronized from themobile device. For example, a service technician may only need theservice manuals for one day while on-site. The start time (e.g., whenthe content items should be locally added to the mobile device) can bethe day before the on-site visit and the stop time (e.g., when thecontent items should be locally removed from mobile device) can be theday after the on-site visit.

In other examples, the synchronization schedule can be determined basedon connectivity of the mobile device. For example, the synchronizationcan begin when the mobile device is communicatively coupled to thecontent management system. In some examples, communicatively coupled canbe the user of the mobile device initiating mobile application 202 onthe mobile device. In other examples, communicatively coupled can be viapush notifications sent from the content management system to the mobiledevice.

At block 420, the one or more content items can be synchronized to themobile device. For example, content management system 110 can transmitthe marked folder (e.g., folder 212 Milo) and the associated contentitems to mobile device 172. Mobile device 172 can then have local copiesof the folder and the associated content items available for accessoffline (e.g., not connected to content management system 110). In someexamples, the synchronization can occur any time a marked content itemhas been modified, as shown in FIG. 7. In some examples, thesynchronization can occur in parallel to the user performing otheroperations (e.g., using mobile application 202, using other applicationsor functions of the mobile device, etc.).

The method shown in FIG. 5 is provided by way of example, as there are avariety of ways to carry out the method. Additionally, while the examplemethod is illustrated with a particular order of blocks, those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that FIG. 5 and the blocksshown therein can be executed in any order that accomplishes thetechnical advantages of the present disclosure and can include fewer ormore blocks than illustrated.

Each block shown in FIG. 5 represents one or more processes, methods orsubroutines, carried out in the example method. The blocks shown in FIG.5 can be implemented in a system such as system 100 shown in FIG. 1. Theflow chart illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described in relation to, andmake reference to, at least the elements of system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows an example flow diagram 500 for synchronization of markedcontent items between a mobile device and a content management system.Flow diagram 500 can begin at block 505. At block 505, a mobile devicecan detect a change (e.g., modification) to a content item marked foroffline access. For example, mobile application 202 on mobile device 172can detect that a user of the mobile device has changed a content itemthat was previously marked (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 4) for offlineaccess and available offline at the mobile device. In some examples, thechange can be editing data within a content item (e.g., adding orremoving text from a text file, adding or removing content from a markedfile, editing an image (image 216 imogen.jpg), etc.). In some examples,the change can be moving content items to a different location on themobile device file system (e.g., moving a marked file to a differentfolder, moving a marked folder to a different folder, etc.). In someexamples, the change can be adding content items (e.g., adding a file orfolder to a marked folder, etc.).

At block 510, a determination on whether the mobile device is online ismade. For example, whether the mobile device is currentlycommunicatively coupled to the content management system (via a networkconnection). When the mobile device is offline, the mobile device canperiodically check if it is online and can access the content managementsystem (e.g., telephone data connection, WI-FI connection, etc.). Whenthe mobile device is online (e.g., communicatively coupled to thecontent management system) the method can proceed to block 515.

At block 515, the mobile device can synchronize the changed content itemto the content management system. For example, mobile device 172 cantransmit the changed marked content item (e.g., image 216 imogen.jpg) tocontent management system 110. In some examples, mobile device 172 cantransmit the changed marked folder and the associated content items tocontent management system 110. In some examples, the synchronization canoccur any time subsequent to a marked content item being modified.

At block 520, a determination can be made if there is a conflict betweenthe changed marked content item (e.g., marked local copy of the contentitem on mobile device 172) and the content item stored at the contentmanagement system. For example, whether the corresponding version of thechanged content item stored on the content management system is stale orup-to-date (e.g., has been contemporaneous modified by another deviceand not yet synchronized to the mobile device). For example, mobiledevice 172 can store one or more offline content items (e.g., folder 214Roo, image 216 imogen.jpg). Mobile device 172 can then go “offline” fora period of time (e.g., not communicatively coupled to contentmanagement system 110). While offline, the user can modify the localcopies of the one or more marked content items on mobile device 172.Also while mobile device 172 is offline, the corresponding content itemscan be modified at the content management system by another device 150,resulting in a conflict between the marked local copies of the contentitem on mobile device 172 and the content item stored at contentmanagement system 110. The determination of a conflict can be made usinghashing algorithms (e.g., MD5, etc.). When the content item stored onthe content management system is up-to-date (e.g., has not beencontemporaneously modified), the method can proceed to block 525, wherethe modified marked content item can be synchronized to authorizeddevices. When there is a conflict between the marked content item on themobile device and the content item on the content management system, themethod can proceed to block 530.

At block 525, the changed content item can be synchronized to authorizeddevices. For example, one or more client devices (e.g., desktop 170,client device 174, etc.) can be authorized to access content stored atthe user account of user 306 (as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B).

At block 530, the conflict between changed marked content item on themobile device and the content item stored on the content managementsystem can be resolved. In some examples, the changed marked contentitem on the mobile device can be written to the content managementsystem using a different name (e.g., imogen-1.jpg). For example, thechanged marked content item can be renamed using the current date ortimestamp (e.g., imogen-11052015.jpg). In some examples, when the userof the mobile device is the owner of the content item on the contentmanagement system, the content item stored at the content managementsystem can be renamed and the modified local copies of the markedcontent item can be written using the original name (e.g., imogen.jpg).In other examples, the content management system (e.g., via pushnotifications through the client application) can ask the user of themobile device how to address the conflict. For example, overwrite thecontent item on the content management system, rename, or do notsynchronize the local copies of the marked content items on the mobiledevice.

The method shown in FIG. 6 is provided by way of example, as there are avariety of ways to carry out the method. Additionally, while the examplemethod is illustrated with a particular order of blocks, those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that FIG. 6 and the blocksshown therein can be executed in any order that accomplishes thetechnical advantages of the present disclosure and can include fewer ormore blocks than illustrated.

Each block shown in FIG. 6 represents one or more processes, methods orsubroutines, carried out in the example method. The blocks shown in FIG.6 can be implemented in a system such as system 100 shown in FIG. 1. Theflow chart illustrated in FIG. 6 will be described in relation to, andmake reference to, at least the elements of system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 shows an example flow diagram 600 for synchronization of markedcontent items between a mobile device and a content management system.Flow diagram 600 can begin at block 605. At block 605, the contentmanagement system can receive a change to a content item marked foroffline access. For example, a client device (e.g., other than at leastone mobile device to which the content item was marked offline) canchange the content item. In some examples, the change can be editingdata within a content item (e.g., adding or removing text from a file,adding or removing content from a marked file, editing an image (image216 imogen.jpg), etc.). In some examples, the change can be movingcontent items to a different location on the mobile device file system(e.g., moving a marked file to a different folder, moving a markedfolder a different folder, etc.). In some examples, the change can beadding content items (e.g., adding a file or folder to a marked folder,etc.).

At block 610, a determination on whether the mobile device is online ismade. For example, whether the mobile device is currentlycommunicatively coupled to the content management system (via a networkconnection). When the mobile device is offline, the content managementsystem can periodically check if the mobile device is online (e.g.,telephone data connection, WI-FI connection, etc.). In some examples,the content management system can receive a notification from the mobiledevice that it has come online. When the mobile device is online (e.g.,communicatively coupled to the content management system) the method canproceed to block 615.

At block 615, the content management system can determine whether thereis a conflict between the changed marked content item from the clientdevice and the corresponding content item stored at the contentmanagement system. For example, the content management system candetermine whether corresponding version of the modified content itemstored on the content management system is stale or up-to-date (e.g.,has been contemporaneous modified by another device and not yetsynchronized to the mobile device). For example, mobile device 172 canstore one or more offline content items (e.g., folder 214 Roo, image 216imogen.jpg). Mobile device 172 can then go “offline” for a period oftime (e.g., not communicatively coupled to content management system110). While offline, the user can modify the local copies of the one ormore marked content items on mobile device 172. Also, while mobiledevice 172 is offline, the corresponding content items can be modifiedat the content management system by another device 150, resulting in aconflict between the marked local copies of the content item on mobiledevice 172 and the content item stored at content management system 110.The determination can be made using hashing algorithms (e.g., MD5,etc.). When the content item stored on the content management system isup-to-date (e.g., has not been contemporaneously modified), the methodcan proceed to block 620, where the modified marked content item can besynchronized to the mobile device where the content item has been markedoffline (e.g., mobile device 172). When there is a conflict between thechanged content item sent from the client device and the content itemstored on the content management system, the method can proceed to block625.

At block 625, the conflict between changed marked content item on themobile device and the content item stored on the content managementsystem can be resolved. In some examples, the changed marked contentitem on the mobile device can be written to the content managementsystem using a different name (e.g., imogen-1.jpg). For example, thechanged marked content item can be renamed using the current date ortimestamp (e.g., imogen-11052015.jpg). In some examples, when the userof the mobile device is the owner of the content item on the contentmanagement system, the content item stored at the content managementsystem can be renamed and the modified local copies of the markedcontent item can be written using the original name (e.g., imogen.jpg).In other examples, the content management system (e.g., via pushnotifications through the client application) can ask the user of themobile device how to address the conflict. For example, overwrite thecontent item on the content management system, rename, or do notsynchronize the local copies of the marked content items on the mobiledevice.

The method shown in FIG. 7 is provided by way of example, as there are avariety of ways to carry out the method. Additionally, while the examplemethod is illustrated with a particular order of blocks, those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that FIG. 7 and the blocksshown therein can be executed in any order that accomplishes thetechnical advantages of the present disclosure and can include fewer ormore blocks than illustrated.

Each block shown in FIG. 7 represents one or more processes, methods orsubroutines, carried out in the example method. The blocks shown in FIG.7 can be implemented in a system such as system 100 shown in FIG. 1. Theflow chart illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described in relation to, andmake reference to, at least the elements of system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 shows an example flow diagram 700 for two-way synchronization ofmarked content items between a mobile device and a content managementsystem. Flow diagram 700 can begin at block 705. At block 705, thecontent management system can receive an indication a marked contentitem (or content items associated with the marked content item) has beenmodified. For example, a file within a marked folder has been edited,removed, added, etc.

At block 710, a determination is made as to how the modification themarked content item was performed (e.g., what user, device, and/or typeof access (e.g., client application, web interface, etc.) performed themodification). When the marked content item was modified by the mobiledevice to which the content was marked (e.g., local to the mobiledevice), the method can proceed to block 715. When the marked contentwas modified by a device to which the content was not marked (or in anyother fashion), the method can proceed to block 730.

At block 715, the content management system can determine whethercorresponding version of the modified content item (e.g., from theindication) stored on the content management system is stale orup-to-date (e.g., has been contemporaneous modified by another deviceand not yet synchronized to the mobile device). For example, mobiledevice 172 can store one or more offline content items (e.g., folder 214Roo, image 216 imogen.jpg). Mobile device 172 can then go “offline” fora period of time (e.g., not communicatively coupled to contentmanagement system 110). While offline, the user can modify the localcopies of the one or more marked content items on mobile device 172. Ata contemporaneous time, the corresponding content items can be modifiedat the content management system by another device 150, resulting in aconflict between the marked local copies of the content item on mobiledevice 172 and the content item stored at content management system 110.The determination can be made using hashing algorithms (e.g., MD5,etc.). When the content item stored on the content management system isup-to-date (e.g., has not been contemporaneously modified), the methodcan proceed to block 720, where the modified marked content can bestored at the content management system. When the content item stored onthe content management system is stale (e.g., has been contemporaneouslymodified), the method can proceed to block 725.

At block 725, the conflict between the local copies of the markedcontent item on the mobile device and the content item stored on thecontent management system can be resolved. In some examples, themodified local copies of the marked content item can be written to thecontent management system using a different name (imogen-1.txt). Forexamples, the changed marked content item can be renamed using thecurrent date or timestamp (e.g., imogen-11052015.jpg). In some examples,when the user of the mobile device is the owner of the content item onthe content management system, the content item stored at the contentmanagement system can be renamed and the modified local copies of themarked content item can be written using the original name (e.g.,imogen.txt). In other examples, the content management system (e.g., viapush notifications through the client application) can ask the user ofthe mobile device how to address the conflict. For example, overwritethe content item on the content management system, rename, or do notsynchronize the local copies of the marked content items on the mobiledevice.

At block 730, the modification of the marked content item (by a clientdevice, not the mobile device) can be synchronized to the contentmanagement system. For example, the synchronization service 156 of theclient application running at the client device can synchronize themarked content item to content storage 142 of the content managementsystem. In some examples, the content item on the content managementsystem can be overwritten by the modified marked content item and a“stale” flag of the content items set. When the stale flag is set, thecontent management system can queue the content items forsynchronization to the mobile device. In other embodiments, a conflictcheck (similar to block 725) can be performed before the modified markedcontent item is written to the content management system.

At block 735, the content management system can determine whether themobile device is online. When the mobile device is offline, the contentmanagement system can periodically check if the mobile device is online(e.g., at predetermined intervals). In some embodiments, the contentmanagement system can send push notifications to the mobile device(e.g., notify the mobile device to come online, open client application,etc.). When the mobile device is online (e.g., communicatively coupledto the content management system) the method can proceed to block 740.

At block 740, a determination can be made as to whether the modifiedmarked content item has also been contemporaneously locally modified atthe mobile device (e.g., while offline). For example, while the mobiledevice was offline, the user has modified the same content item that wasalso modified by the client device and that the content managementsystem is currently synchronizing (e.g., at block 730). When the localcopies of the marked content items on the mobile device have not beenmodified, the content items can be synchronized to the mobile device(e.g., by synchronization service 156 running on mobile application 202)and the stale flag and be reset to up-to-date at the content managementsystem, at block 745. When the local copies of the marked content itemon the mobile device have been locally modified, the method can proceedto block 725 to remedy the conflict.

FIG. 8 shows an example of computing system 800 in which the componentsof the system are in communication with each other using connection 805.Connection 805 can be a physical connection via a bus, or a directconnection into processor 810, such as in a chipset architecture.Connection 805 can also be a virtual connection, networked connection,or logical connection.

In some embodiments computing system 800 is a distributed system inwhich the functions described in this disclosure can be distributedwithin a datacenter, multiple datacenters, a peer network, etc. In someembodiments, one or more of the described system components representsmany such components each performing some or all of the function forwhich the component is described. In some embodiments, the componentscan be physical or virtual devices.

Example system 800 includes at least one processing unit (CPU orprocessor) 810 and connection 805 that couples various system componentsincluding system memory 815, such as read only memory (ROM) and randomaccess memory (RAM) to processor 810. Computing system 800 can include acache of high-speed memory connected directly with, in close proximityto, or integrated as part of processor 810.

Processor 810 can include any general purpose processor and a hardwareservice or software service, such as services 832, 834, and 836 storedin storage device 830, configured to control processor 810 as well as aspecial-purpose processor where software instructions are incorporatedinto the actual processor design. Processor 810 may essentially be acompletely self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores orprocessors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core processormay be symmetric or asymmetric.

To enable user interaction, computing system 800 includes an inputdevice 845, which can represent any number of input mechanisms, such asa microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture orgraphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech, etc. Computingsystem 800 can also include output device 835, which can be one or moreof a number of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. Insome instances, multimodal systems can enable a user to provide multipletypes of input/output to communicate with computing system 800.Computing system 800 can include communications interface 840, which cangenerally govern and manage the user input and system output. There isno restriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangement andtherefore the basic features here may easily be substituted for improvedhardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.

Storage device 830 can be a non-volatile memory device and can be a harddisk or other types of computer readable media which can store data thatare accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges,random access memories (RAMs), read only memory (ROM), and/or somecombination of these devices.

The storage device 830 can include software services, servers, services,etc., that when the code that defines such software is executed by theprocessor 810, it causes the system to perform a function. In someembodiments, a hardware service that performs a particular function caninclude the software component stored in a computer-readable medium inconnection with the necessary hardware components, such as processor810, connection 805, output device 835, etc., to carry out the function.

For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology maybe presented as including individual functional blocks includingfunctional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps orroutines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardwareand software.

Any of the steps, operations, functions, or processes described hereinmay be performed or implemented by a combination of hardware andsoftware services or services, alone or in combination with otherdevices. In some embodiments, a service can be software that resides inmemory of a client device and/or one or more servers of a contentmanagement system and perform one or more functions when a processorexecutes the software associated with the service. In some embodiments,a service is a program, or a collection of programs that carry out aspecific function. In some embodiments, a service can be considered aserver. The memory can be a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, andmemories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit streamand the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readablestorage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals,electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.

Methods according to the above-described examples can be implementedusing computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwiseavailable from computer readable media. Such instructions can comprise,for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purposeprocessing device to perform a certain function or group of functions.Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network.The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries,intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, orsource code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used tostore instructions, information used, and/or information created duringmethods according to described examples include magnetic or opticaldisks, solid state memory devices, flash memory, USB devices providedwith non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, and so on.

Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprisehardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety ofform factors. Typical examples of such form factors include servers,laptops, smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personaldigital assistants, and so on. Functionality described herein also canbe embodied in peripherals or add-in cards. Such functionality can alsobe implemented on a circuit board among different chips or differentprocesses executing in a single device, by way of further example.

The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computingresources for executing them, and other structures for supporting suchcomputing resources are means for providing the functions described inthese disclosures.

Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explainaspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of theclaims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements insuch examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use theseexamples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further andalthough some subject matter may have been described in languagespecific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it isto be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claimsis not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. Forexample, such functionality can be distributed differently or performedin components other than those identified herein. Rather, the describedfeatures and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systemsand methods within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A content management system comprising: at leastone processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processorto: upon a determination by the content management system that an amountof historical usage of a folder is met after a pre-determined period oftime, mark, by the content management system, the folder for offlineaccess by a first client device authorized to access the folder; send,to the first client device, at least one content item from the foldermarked for offline access; receive, from a second client deviceauthorized to access the folder marked for offline access, a change madeto the folder while the first client device was offline; determine, whenthe first client device is online after being offline, whether there isa conflict between the change made to the folder at the contentmanagement system while the first client device was offline and aversion of the folder stored on the first client device; and in responseto determining that there is no conflict, synchronize the change to thefolder at the first client device.
 2. The content management system ofclaim 1, the at least one memory storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processorto: determine available storage is below a threshold amount on the firstclient device; and based on the determined available storage being belowthe threshold amount, unmark a second folder previously marked foroffline use.
 3. The content management system of claim 1, whereinmarking the folder is based on an indication received by the contentmanagement system to mark the folder for offline access, wherein theindication comprises metadata associated with the folder.
 4. The contentmanagement system of claim 1, the at least one memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to: prior to determining that there is noconflict, determine that there is a resolvable conflict between thechange made to the folder while the first client device was offline andthe version of the folder stored on the first client device when thefirst client device is online after being offline; and in response todetermining that there is the resolvable conflict, resolve theresolvable conflict between the change to the folder and the version ofthe folder stored at the first client device.
 5. The content managementsystem of claim 4, the at least one memory storing instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least oneprocessor to: send, to the first client device, a request forinstruction on how to process the conflict; receive, from the firstclient device, instructions to process the conflict; and in response toreceiving the instructions, resolve the conflict based on theinstructions.
 6. The content management system of claim 1, the at leastone memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to: after a pre-determinedperiod of time, unmark the folder to remove offline access.
 7. Thecontent management system of claim 1, the at least one memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe at least one processor to: receive, from the first client device, arequest to synchronize a second change to the folder made at the firstclient device while the first client device was offline; determinewhether there is a particular conflict between the second change to thefolder and a copy of the folder stored at the content management system;and in response to determining that there is no particular conflict,synchronize the second change to the copy of the folder.
 8. The contentmanagement system of claim 7, wherein synchronizing the second changecomprises: update the copy of the folder stored at the contentmanagement system to reflect the second change; and send the secondchange to the copy of the folder to the first client device.
 9. Acontent management system comprising: at least one processor; and atleast one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the at least one processor to: upon adetermination by the content management system that an amount ofhistorical usage of a content item is met, automatically mark, by thecontent management system, the content item for offline access by afirst client device authorized to access the content item; send, to thefirst client device, the content item marked for offline access;receive, from a second client device authorized to access the contentitem, a change made to the content item while the first client device isoffline; determine, when the first client device is online after beingoffline, whether there is a conflict between the change made to thecontent item while the first client device is offline and a version ofthe content item stored on the first client device when the first clientdevice is online after being offline; in response to determining thatthere is no conflict, synchronize the change made to the content itemwith the version of the content item stored on the first client device;determine a synchronization schedule for the content item that indicatesa time period including a start time in which the content item is to besynchronized and an end time when synchronization of the content itemends; and synchronize the marked content item in accordance with thesynchronization schedule.
 10. The content management system of claim 9,the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by theat least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: determineavailable storage is below a threshold amount on the first clientdevice; and based on the determined available storage being below thethreshold amount, unmark a second folder previously marked for offlineuse.
 11. The content management system of claim 9, wherein thedetermination that the content item should be marked for offline accessby the first client device is based on an indication received from anadministrator, the indication configured to notify the contentmanagement system that the content item should be marked for offlineaccess by the first client device.
 12. The content management system ofclaim 11, the at least one memory storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processorto: receive, from the administrator, a second indication to unmark thecontent item to remove offline access; and delete the content item fromthe first client device.
 13. The content management system of claim 9,the at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by theat least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: determinethe synchronization schedule for the content item, wherein thesynchronization schedule comprises a start time and a stop time; andsynchronize the content item in accordance with the synchronizationschedule.
 14. The content management system of claim 13, the at leastone memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to: automatically send thecontent item to the first client device at the start time andautomatically delete the content item from the first client device atthe stop time.
 15. A first client device comprising: at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processorto: upon a determination that an amount of historical usage of a folderis met, mark, by the first client device, the folder for offline accessby the first client device authorized to access the folder; send, from acontent management system, at least one content item from the foldermarked for offline access; receive a change to the folder on the firstclient device when the first client device is offline, wherein thefolder is synchronized with the content management system; and inresponse to detecting the change to the folder, synchronize the changeto the folder with the content management system, wherein synchronizethe change further comprises instructions to: determine whether thefirst client device is online; in response to the first client devicebeing online, determine whether there is a conflict between the changeto the folder and a version of the folder stored at the contentmanagement system; and in response to determining that there is noconflict, synchronize the change to the folder with the version of thefolder stored at the content management system.
 16. The first clientdevice of claim 15, the at least one memory storing instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least oneprocessor to: determine available storage is below a threshold amount onthe first client device; and based on the determined available storagebeing below the threshold amount, unmark a second folder previouslymarked for offline use.
 17. The first client device of claim 15, the atleast one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the at least one processor to: receive anindication to unmark the folder; in response to receiving the indicationto unmark the folder, synchronize any changes to the folder on the firstclient device with the version of the folder on the content managementsystem; and delete the folder from local storage at the first clientdevice.
 18. The first client device of claim 15, the at least one memorystoring instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor,cause the at least one processor to: prior to determining that there isno conflict, determine that there is a resolvable conflict between thechange to the folder and the version of the folder stored on the contentmanagement system; and in response to the determination that there isthe resolvable conflict, resolve the resolvable conflict between thechange to the folder and the version of the folder stored at the contentmanagement system.
 19. The first client device of claim 18, the at leastone memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to: receive, from thecontent management system, instruction on how to process the resolvableconflict; and send, to the content management system, instructions toprocess the resolvable conflict.
 20. The first client device of claim18, wherein the resolvable conflict is resolved automatically.